07/21/2015

Start from the Top: An Education in Cybersecurity

by ZixCorp

As more and more companies fall victim to cyber-attacks and data breaches, the need for education around cybersecurity has been thrust into the spotlight. While some have taken it upon themselves to learn more, a majority are still lost, stuck trying to make sense of everything happening around them.

While it isn’t necessary for individuals to have a complex understanding of cybersecurity, especially when they are not in a position to make company decisions, it is more than a bit concerning when the Wall Street Journal reports that many on corporate boards struggle with understanding cybersecurity threats. The survey, which was conducted by the National Association of Corporate Directors, revealed that only 11 percent of board members across industries reported they had a “high level” of knowledge about cybersecurity.

When broken out by industry, the stats don’t look much better:

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30 percent of healthcare directors said they have “little knowledge” of cybersecurity

Only 20 percent of healthcare directors reported having a “high level of knowledge”

The 30 percent stat is by far the lowest of any industry surveyed, which is shocking given the heavy regulatory compliance burden facing healthcare.

This places a spotlight on a major issue within the healthcare industry that needs to be addressed — that is, maintaining a high level of education. As an industry that holds a large amount of consumers’ private information, it is imperative that all involved gain some knowledge about cybersecurity, and boards need enough knowledge at the C-level to effectively enable the implementation of progressive solutions that will protect their organizations.

While each organization’s needs are different, it is recommended that companies employ a layered security solution. Solutions like Zix Email Encryption and ZixDLP play critical roles in helping protect data in email – a top risk in any organization. These solutions help ensure that private information isn’t leaked into the wrong hands in transit and doesn’t get sent out to the wrong person by mistake.

In the end, there needs to be a major emphasis placed on educating key decision makers within companies. Raising cybersecurity awareness at the corporate board level can only help combat the issues we are currently facing.